


Crunching Leaves and Stolen Sheets

by Yukihime211



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: #MonthlyKlance, College AU, F/F, F/M, Klancetober 2020, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26741443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yukihime211/pseuds/Yukihime211
Summary: Pick up a nice cup of tea, wrap yourself up in a cozy blanket, and watch as the leaves outside turn from forest green to a familiar brown. It is that time of year again, where we all go gaga for Halloween. So sit back and relax as a series of one shots take a look into the lives of Keith and Lance. Klancetober is in full swing.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Day 1: Werewolf/Vampire

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, I'm Yuki. Its been a while since I've really posted anything creative. I used to be really active in fanfiction.net back in the day, but you know, live goes on. But I have been itching to get back into it, if only for my own selfish purposes. You know what they say, if you can't find what you're looking for, write it yourself. I challenged myself to write for Klancetober this year as a little pick me up and to dust off those rusty writing skills. Hope you enjoy. If you'd like to follow along with the prompts, head over to tumblr. I'm not the one who made the prompts, I just wanted to follow them. https://monthlyklance.tumblr.com/post/629543814577733632/october-klance-prompts-tag-your-work-with

### Day 1: Werewolf/Vampire

Over the course of several years, the age old question still drifts within passing conversations. Which of the two is the far superior race? The hypnotic trance of a charismatic being, or the raw strength that comes with a furry shifter? 

Katie “Pidge” Holt had decided that the best course of action to provide the world with the answer, was through cold hard facts. 

And what a better way to get such facts? 

If statistics had taught them anything, it was that surveys were the way to go.  
\---  
It was a chilly autumn morning in the campus courtyard. A canopy of trees stood above the pathway, orange leaves littering the ground like a candy trail. 

Hunk adjusted his grip on the camera, as Pidge lugged around a large stack of papers within a black tote bag adorned with a green alien decal on the side. 

“So who is our first victim?” Hunk asked as he surveyed the passing students.

Pidge used her free hand to make the stop motion. “We've got to find the perfect moment. Right when they let their guard down the most, and then we attack.”

Hunk chuckled. “You make it seem like we're going out into a battlefield.”

Pidge spun around to face him, lips in a fine line. 

“That's because it is a battlefield. Teenagers are a finicky specimen, easily bored and always looking for a way out.”

She pointed at guy in a purple hoodie and platinum hair held in a loose bun. He wore earbuds and an expression that clearly meant he didn't want to be disturbed.

“You are a teenager though,” Hunk pointed out.

“That's beside the point! Luckily, we've got a secret weapon.”

Another scan proved fruitful, as the time to act had arrived. 

A blond girl with a peppy disposition and hair in a French braid, looked at the two with curiosity. Beside her, was a boy with bright red hair and nose stuck in a book.

“You there! You look like you're a woman of culture. Are you free to answer a few questions?”

The blond girl pointed to herself, to which Pidge nodded.

“Well color me intrigued. What do you want to know?” she asked.

Pidge cleared her throat and nodded in Hunk's direction. Taking that as his cue, he pressed the button to begin recording. 

“Picture this, you're scrolling through the horror classics in your preferred streaming site, looking for something to ring in the spooky holiday. Though there are the serial killer subgenre, the thriller, ect. but one of the oldest classics we tend to loop back to is vampires and werewolves. I'm here today to find out which one is the better.”

The blond girl shifted. “Oh… Is this for some time of film project? I'm not a big fan of horror movies, if I'm being honest. But I mean, are you looking for like strength wise? Allure? There are a lot of different variables.”

At that, Pidge pulled out one of the surveys from her tote bag. “I've got it covered. Just answer to the best of your ability and hand it back when you're done. Then I'll compile the data and the debate will finally be over. Well, at least for the school anyway. But you've got to start somewhere.”

The girl skimmed through the survey. “It's… kind of lengthy,” she hesitated.

Pidge set her tote on a nearby table and began rummaging through Hunk's backpack.

“Give me a tic….”

She pulled out a tupperware container and slowly peeled off the cover. “Finish the survey and you get one of these bad boys.”

She presented the girl with Hunk's specialty cookies; Snickerdoodle Surprise. One look, and the target will be mesmerized into submission.

“Those do look tasty...” the blond murmured.

“And as an added bonus, get another friend to take the survey you get an extra,” Pidge said with a sly grin.

“Romelle? We really should get going,” the redhead said after looking away from his book.

The girl, Romelle looked to the boy. “Oh, come on Bandor! Free cookies are at stake. And, aren't you a self proclaimed horror story connoisseur? You always have your nose stuck in a book.”

Romelle tugged on Bandor's arm and sat down at the table. “Well, let the survey begin!” She chirped.

0.0.0

Hunk and Pidge worked through the kinks pretty easily for the next few hours, until they ran out of cookies.

“It was nice while it lasted. We got at least twenty-four surveys out of the way.”

Hunk smiled. “Ma always told me the best way to anyone's heart is their stomach. Good to know that her recipe came in handy.”

“Yeah, well, we're going to need another six batches if we want to meet the quota,” Pidge commented with a sigh.

“Sure, I could do that, but I'm going to need to buy more ingredients. At that point, I'm going to have to charge you a baker's fee. I can't be camera man and make cookies at the same time.”

“I guess so. Would be nice to have some extra hands on deck,” she murmured.

Suddenly, a lanky arm wrapped itself across Hunk's shoulder. “Hey guys! What'cha up to?”

Hunk nearly dropped the camera, a quick shriek escaping his lips. “Ah! W-wha?!”

Pidge looked to the source, where Lance stood with a crooked smile.

“Really Lance?”

Hunk clasped the camera to his chest. “Not cool man, Ryan would kill me if I dropped his camera. He'd never trust me with his precious cargo again.”

“Oh, sorry man! I had no idea. How come you're borrowing Ryan's camera? Capturing nature in motion or something? You know what would really bring in the views? Someone like me,” Lance said, pointing his thumb at himself.

Pidge groaned. “For your information, Hunk and I are working on a class project. Teacher gave free reign as long as we make an effort to get the data. We're trying to find out which is better. Werewolves or vampires.”

“Psha! That is easy! Vampires of course. You've got the whole suave mysterious thing going for you, you're basically immortal, and not to mention the ladies,” he said with a purr.

“Oh sure, but you forget the fact that they're allergic to garlic, can't enter a room without permission, and the whole being mostly dead thing? Yeah, maybe they've got the influence, but that won't help you once you've got a stake through your heart and the sun comes to burn you to ashes,” another voice quipped from behind.

Bushy brows, black mullet style hair, and the whole lone wolf aesthetic? Yeah that was Keith. 

“Who asked you Keith?” snarked Lance.

Keith leaned against one of the many trees, as he happened to be a good few feet away from them. 

“Just giving my honest input, is all,” he said with his arms crossed in front of him.

Pidge grabbed a pen from her tote bag, extending it as if to pantomime a mic. 

“Oh yeah? What's your stand? Werewolf or vampire?”  
Keith opened his mouth to answer, before Pidge cut him off. “And no, Mothman is not an option.”

Hunk gave him an apologetic smile. “You tried buddy.”

“I guess I'd go with werewolves. You've got super strength, senses are more heightened, and they don't go around killing people for their blood.”

Lance gasped. “Not all vampires go around killing their prey, you know. And besides, don't werewolves go out of control? Like all feral? For all you know, the werewolf would eat its own grandma!”

Keith scoffed. “Really? You know, just like vampires, werewolves have different interpretations, so let's not get our panties in a twist.”

Hunk and Pidge watched the two banter for several more minutes and then gave each other a look.

“Guys? Guys? Guys! Come on, now is not the time,” Hunk said with a sigh.

Pidge groaned. “Forget it. They aren't listening. Guys? That's the whole purpose of this survey. Instead of going at each other's throats, why don't you go find out yourselves?”

That stopped both of them in their tracks. 

“Not a bad plan, Pidge. Then we can prove once and for all that vampires are the best, unlike _stinky_ werewolves.”

Keith rolled his eyes.

“I've got an idea! Let's make a bet. If I can get the most votes for vampires, then you've got to wear a dog onesie for a full day at school,” Lance said as an after thought.

“Oh sure, like that will happen. Fine then. If I get the most votes for werewolf, then you… um… then you admit you were wrong.”

“Laaaame. Come on, you've got to have something in mind,” Lance drawled.

Keith growled slightly. “Oh, fine! If I win then you have to listen to my orders for one day.”

“What, you mean follow you around like a lost puppy?”

Pidge's eyebrows quirked up at Keith's comment. “Just what are you implying Keith?”

She could see realization hit him as his face went red. “What? No! Not like that! I mean, like carry my books or something like that.”

Hunk giggled. “Right...”

“You're on! Just you wait, I've got the perfect plan in store! Meet back here tomorrow, same time,” Lance cheered as he walked toward the opposite direction of the school.

“Uh… Is anyone going to tell him he has a 2pm class in like… ten minutes?” asked Keith as he watched Lance's slowly retreating form.

“He'll figure it out,” Pidge said nonchalantly. “Hey Hunk, show me what footage we got for today. I have a feeling we're going to need all the memory space for tomorrow's…. showdown.”

Hunk passed over the camera to Pidge. “Oh, sure. Um, looking forward to it. Hopefully you've got a good plan of your own. Lance tends to get… overboard. So you have to get to his level if you want to stand a chance.”

As Pidge was distracted with the camera, Hunk leaned in close to whisper into Keith's ear. “Don't worry, I'll text Lance about his class. Can't have him missing Coran's class. We've got a pop quiz today.”

A slight look of panic crossed Keith. “We have a pop quiz today?”

0.0.0

The next day, Lance and Keith met up in courtyard with Pidge and Hunk not far behind. With eyes wide, they stared at one another.

“What are you wearing?” the two demanded in unison.

Pidge blinked a few times. “Well… This proves it. They're made for each other.”

Hunk tried his best to hold his laughter in. “I-I mean, I did say to stoop to his level,” he snorted.

Lance had slicked back his hair, donned a pair of fangs, and wore a white flowing dress shirt. A red and black high collared cape was thrown around his shoulders. Opposite of Lance, Keith had forgone his jacket in lieu of showing off his muscles through a tight black shirt. Atop his head, were a pair of furry ears and a fluffy tail at the base of his tailbone. 

“No, no, this is a good thing. This will definitely attract more people into taking the survey. Actually, I've got it.”

Pidge handed each half of the surveys and clapped her hands. “Alright, chop chop! Get a move on. These surveys aren't going to fill themselves out.”

“Why do I feel like we've just been roped into doing all the dirty work?” Keith observed.

“Because she did. Pidge can be very persuasive,” Hunk said sympathetically. “At least I don't need to slave away in the kitchen.”

Lance took his pile and smiled. “Watch and learn as the master is at work.”

He sauntered over to a group of Freshman girls. “Ladies...”

Keith watched from afar as Lance talked animatedly to the girl and the occasional giggle from some of them. Something in his gut clenched in discomfort. He turned away in the opposite direction.  
It turned out, that Keith had gotten a bit of attention himself.

“Wow, those ears look so realistic. Can I touch them?” a girl asked as she made a motion to touch them.

Keith backed away slightly. “No.”

“Oh, sorry. Were they like expensive? I know some people can be particular about their props.”

“Don't worry about him. He's just not really a people person. He's got a thing for personal space,” Lance said as he approached the two.

He placed an arm around Keith's shoulders, to which Keith stiffened.

“If you've figured that much, then why are you invading my personal space?”

Lance grinned cheekily. “Cuz I know it annoys you. Anyway, how is the survey taking going?”

Keith showed off a couple of the surveys left in hand. “Down to the last few. You?”

He stepped out of Lance's half hug, and is presented with the other surveys.

“Same, I gave the completed ones to Pidge. She hasn't tallied them yet, but I'm sure I'm in the lead.”

“And how are you so confident?'

“Have you seen me working my magic? Besides girls love vampires. So I've got that in the bag. I mean, the campus has a higher girl to guy ratio. Who could resist?”

“You seem to be forgetting something important.”

“Oh? And what's that?”

Keith gave him a cryptic smile. “You'll see...”

“O...kay? That's not weird at all. Anyway, how about this? Let's see… how do we settle this before the tallies? I know! Her! I'm sure she can set the record straight. Nyma! Nyma! Wait up!”

He ran after the girl wearing a cropped yellow shirt and denim jeans. She was engrossed in the engineering worksheet in front of her. 

“Oh, hey Lance. A little early for Halloween, don't you think?” She asked after she surveyed both Keith and Lance's get up.

Lance edged closer to her and looked down at her with a smirk. “Hey…”

“Sorry sweetie, but you're not getting me with those baby blues of yours,” she deadpanned.

Lance took a step back. “Huh? B-but I didn't even…”

“I can see what is going on here.”

“But how?”

“Word travels fast, you know,” she said with a smile. She pulled out her phone and showed off the selfies a few of her friends had sent her way with Lance lounging around with them.

“I took the survey yesterday. Tell Hunk the Snickerdoodles were delicious.”

Lance deflated a bit. “Oh… Wait, Hunk had snickerdoodles and he didn't tell me? Is our entire friendship built on a lie?!” he said dramatically.

“I chose werewolf, if you're wondering. But anyway, I should get going. I promised Rolo I would meet him in the library to go over notes,” she turned away, and walked towards the library. “Oh, and nice costume Keith. Real authentic looking...”

“Oh, uh. Thanks???”

Lance's mouth fell and then looked back at Keith. “Why didn't she comment on my costume?”

“Because you probably only took like five minutes to put together something so generic?”

“Five minutes?! You know how long it took me to style my hair? I even had Veronica help me with my makeup!”

Now that Lance mentioned it, Keith took the time to survey his face. He could see the subtly hints of mascara and a light rim of pencil eyeliner to enhance his eyes. “I mean, your eyes are looking especially blue today.”

He leaned in close, nearly nose to nose with Lance. “It looks...nice.”

Lance nearly got lost in Keith's dark grey eyes as he saw his own reflection in them. Cheeks flushing red, he quickly averted his eyes.

“U-uh, T-thanks, I guess,” he said, voice pitching slightly. He turned around, no longer facing Keith head on. “I mean, I get what you're going with your costume and even I got to admit, you've got nice arms. But there is no way you can compare to the true strength of a werewolf. Because lets face it, as cool as vampires are, there is no such thing as supernatural creatures. Unless you count the Chupacabra, that thing is seriously scary!”

Keith's arms wrapped themselves around Lance's middle, and before Lance knew what was happening, he was lifted up with ease. His back rested against Keith's firm chest. He could feel the tickle of Keith's hair against his neck. “I don't know, I wouldn't be so sure. There is still a lot of undiscovered creatures walking around the world. Always need to have an open mind,” Keith said breathily, lips unbearably close to Lance's ear.

He slowly put Lance down. “I never thought about that,” Lance squeaked. “O-oh, will you look at the time. Boy am I hungry? Are you hungry? I'm starving!”

Keith stopped Lance in his tracks, a hand around his arm he looked back at him with a serious expression.“Look… Lance. Let's just put this whole werewolves vs vampires thing behind us. It was a stupid bet anyway. Who cares who wins.”

Lance paused. “Wait, are you serious? After all the trouble we went through? Heck no! Now that I've seen you with your ears and tail get up, I know you'll look adorable in the dog onesie!”

Keith's eyebrow arched. “Adorable? Ah… that why you wanted to win so badly? Because you think I'm cute?”

Lance balked. “You know what, forget I said that!”

“And you're sure I won't come out on top? Maybe I should make you wear the onesie.”

“La la la. I'm not listening,” Lance quickly covered his ears.

Keith shook his head. “Fine. We'll see what happens tomorrow. But for now, let's get something to eat. I actually wanted to tell you something before this whole ordeal happened yesterday.”

“Talking? Dinner? Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Lance.”

“Ok, ok. Let's go. Wanna hit up Wendy's? First one that gets there doesn't have to pay!” And Lance took off, leaving Keith in the dust.

Keith sighed. “Why does he always have to be so difficult? Ah, whatever. I never back down from a challenge.”

Keith's eyes dilated slightly, almost to a yellow sliver, as he took off after Lance.


	2. Day 2:Haunted House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Voltron Squad heads over to the recently opened Haunted House Boonanza to meet up with recently employed Allura. The group accidentally splits up, leaving Keith and Lance to weave their way through the winding paths ahead. Which way was it again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2, coming your way. I got a little lazy but I'm pushing through and doing my best to pop these one shots out in a timely fashion. (My secret? I'm literally just winging it.) Warning: Things get a little spooky. Slight mention of abuse. I try to be vague about it so it is open to the reader's interpretation.

At last, Friday afternoon had arrived. After the week had petered by so slowly, Shiro was glad for a moment of reprieve. What would be a better way to spend a nice Friday than meeting up at the retro diner known as Vrepit Sal?

The diner had to have been around since well into the sixties, yet still managed to be a popular hang out site for the group. The only plausible reason it was still open was because it had gone through a whole new, much more appetizing menu. 

Shiro thanked whoever took up new management. He waited patiently at the table at the far corner of the diner for the others to show up.

The first one to show up was Allura, dressed in a pale blue dress with a white cardigan over it. Shiro waved her over. “Hi Allura,” he greeted.

“Hello Shiro. Oh my, it feels like it has been ages since we all met up together,” she said with a smile.

“It has been a while, hasn't it? Have a seat, the others should get here any minute.”

Allura took the invitation and slid into the booth. “So, how have you been? If I remember correctly, you just got back from Brazil?”

Shiro smiled. “You know, I've been doing pretty great. I'll be honest, it has been a tough year, but the trip has brought me back feeling refreshed.”

“That's wonderful to hear. I know the road to recovery is a long one, but that is progress in the right direction,” Allura said, clapping her hands together.

Shiro placed a hand on his right arm. “Yeah...”

There was a long pause between the two.

The tinkle of the entrance bell sounded off as two more familiar figures made their way inside. This time, it was Pidge and Hunk. “Hey Allura, Shiro,”called out Pidge.

“Have you two had a chance to look over the new menu yet? The milkshakes here are amazing, way better than their original space goo smoothie. I mean, it was just soggy green gelatin mixed with broccoli or something. Blegh!” Hunk commented.

Shiro chuckled as Allura looked at him nauseously. 

“Are you serious? That doesn't sound appetizing at all!”

“Right?” 

Shiro and Allura scooted over for them to sit beside them. 

“You should have seen the tuna salad,” Pidge said with a shudder of her own.

Allura shook her head. “You know, I'm quite glad I didn't join your gatherings at this establishment until just recently. All these food stories are horrendous!”

“Sal just needed a push in the right direction, even if he nearly had the health inspector shut him down,” Hunk explained.

Another sound of the bell at the entrance was followed by Keith and Lance.

Keith was dressed in a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black tank underneath and his dark hair pulled in a small ponytail. A couple of black bracelets on his right wrist. 

Lance wore an oversized white crew neck sweater and black skinny jeans along with white sneakers. “Hey guys! Miss me?” 

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Hardly. Get your butts over here. We're about to order.”

“Fine, fine. We're coming.”

Lance slid over next to Hunk, while Keith took a seat beside Pidge. 

“Anyway, what's new with you Allura. We haven't seen you in a while,” asked Pidge after everyone had settled in.

“Oh, you know. I've been busy with the drama club, is all. You've heard about the newest haunted house being set up on Altea and Main Street?”

“Oh, you mean the one being set up at the old sanatorium? I heard those guys go all out with the scare tactics. What about it?” asked Keith.

“Well, actually, they were looking for a few actors to fill some positions in the haunted house. It turns out that Professor Honerva and the person responsible for running the haunted house are good friends and they extended the positions to some of the students. I managed to grab a role as one of the scare actors. And to top it off, its a paid position.”

“That's great Allura! We're very proud of you,” an impressed Shiro beamed.

“Awesome! I bet they get to show you all the cool special effects makeup,” Pidge exclaimed.

“And that isn't even the best part.” Allura rummaged through her purse and pulled out a set of five tickets. “How would you like to be one of the first few to get the experience of a lifetime?”

“You mean… like go through the haunted house as a group? The same sanatorium said to be haunted by the ghost of patients past?” asked Hunk in a small voice. 

“Of course! Isn't it exciting?”

“R-right. I think we have two different meanings of the word exciting.”

Lance patted Hunk's back. “Oh, come in! It'll be tons of fun. Those are just silly rumors. What you really have to look out for, is the actors. They can be pretty convincing. And like Pidge said, the special effects are gonna be hyper realistic.”

“That doesn't make me feel any better.”

“Oh, sorry buddy.”

“Oh please won't you come? Tonight is opening night and I would love to see you all there,” pleaded Allura as she brought out the puppy eyes.

“Please don't look at me like that,” Hunk groaned. “Oh, alright, alright. But I don't like this one bit.”

“Great! I'll see you all at 8pm tonight. But, before then, let's get some of those milkshakes you were talking about.”

0.0.0

Once 7:30 rolled along, everyone had piled into Shiro's car and made a quick stop at the store. They were all going to pitch in to get Allura a congratulatory gift for landing the job.

“You think flowers and a card would suffice?” asked Keith.

“I mean, its the thought that counts,” Hunk replied.

“She did give us free tickets you know? We can at least try a little harder,” Shiro pointed out.

“What about these juniberry filled chocolates? Juniberries are her favorite after all,” Lance suggested as he presented the box of chocolates.

“Of course, we'd probably have to give it to her after her shift. So we'd likely have to leave it in the car for a while,” Pidge explained logically.

“So that is a no on the chocolates then?”

“I didn't say that. You're heading in the right direction Lance.”

“Fresh fruit is also another option,” Hunk surveyed.

“I dunno. Girls like makeup, right? Why not a new lipstick or something?” Keith asked with a shrug.

“Keith my man, if we do that, we'll be here all day. And besides, if we did that, we have to find the shade that compliments her skin tone, Not to mention figure out what goes with her outfit best,” Lance said with a shake of his head.

“The flower and card business doesn't sound so bad after all. We can't spend too much time here. We need to get to the sanatorium in less than twenty minutes,” Shiro intervened.

“Ok, ok I got it! We do the flowers and card thing, but as an added bonus we get her… this picture frame. She can use it to put that old picture of her dad in here,” Hunk said quickly.

They came to an agreement and went to pay.

0.0.0

With their purchases in tow, they made the trip to Altea and Main Street and parked in the designated parking lot. A guy dressed in a glow in the dark skeleton costume ushered them with his orange wands to an open space. After paying the five dollar parking fee the group of five made their way to the line outside the sanatorium. 

As they scanned the area, there was no Allura in sight. Shiro sent her a quick message letting her know they had arrived. 

“She did say she was going to be one of the scare actors. Maybe she is already in costume waiting for us inside?” Pidge surmised.

“You're right, that might be why she hasn't read any of my texts,” Shiro said with a nod.

“Welcome everyone to the Haunted House 'Boo'-nanza! So delighted you could join us all tonight!” A booming voice came from a crackling speaker nearby. Someone had turned on a fog machine, seemingly engulfing them in obscured darkness.

“If you have yet to purchase your tickets, proceed into the right lane where one of our spooky assistants will be happy to help. If you have already preregistered and have your ticket on you or present the barcode on your phone with your digital receipt, please proceed to the left lane. If you have a fast pass, proceed to the lane in the middle,” a bored teenager said apathetically. He was dressed in a grim reaper outfit, along with a fake scythe in his hand.

“Nice costume,” Lance said with a quick thumbs up.

The bored teenager blinked over in Lance's direction. “It's my work uniform.”

Hunk began to squirm around as they got closer to the three lines.

“Looks like Allura got us some fast passes. Wow, she must have really charmed the pants off of this guy for him to give her five of these. They sell for thirty dollars a piece,” Pidge said with a low whistle.

“Thirty dollars?! They better include some scary shit that involves a waiver for it to be that expensive,” Lance exclaimed.

“But we didn't pay for these,” Keith said in confusion.

“I know that, I'm just saying, is all. Its the principal that matters.”

“Are you sure you're using that in the right sentence?” 

“You mean principle.” Pidge prompted.

“Oh...”

Shiro shook his head. “Let's go you four. The middle lane awaits.”

“Guys… I'm starting to have second thoughts. Maybe I should wait here until you get back. Keep an eye on Allura's gifts? I-I don't mind waiting in the car,” Hunk shivered.

“Come on Hunk don't be a baby. You already promised Allura you'd see the haunted house yourself,” Pidge groaned.

“I know. I'm seeing it from here. That technically counts, right?”

“Come on big guy, you can do it. We won't let the monsters get you. I mean, we've got Shiro here. You see those muscles? Great for kicking ghost butts,” Lance pointed out.

“He is right you know, Shiro is a good shield,” Keith added.

“Gee, thanks Keith.”

“No problem Shiro.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

The five finally made it to the middle lane, where another person was dressed as a mummy. “Ready you guys? Remember, stay close, follow the signs, and most of all, enjoy!”

She took their passes and opened the double doors of the sanatorium. When they all clambered inside, the doors closed loudly behind them, leaving them in dim lighting and surprisingly silence.

“See? That wasn't so bad?” Shiro said gently, as Hunk kept a tight grip on the back of Shiro's shirt.

“R-right, nothing scary yet,” Hunk said nervously.

They continued walking forward, their own footsteps echoing around them. The staff had decorated the room with fake chains wrapped around the walls, as well as glass containers with various fake organs inside with food coloring lining some shelves. The lights began to flicker as they neared a room that read 'infirmary'. 

“You'd think they would have the budget to make the guts at least look more realistic,” Pidge noted with slight disappointment.

“Sh… do you hear that,” Lance shushed Pidge.

“Hear what?”

“I thought I heard an extra pair of footsteps.”

Hunk's grip tightened even more. “Where? Behind us? In front of us?”

Keith looked around. “I didn't hear anything.”

“Relax, Lance is just trying to scare you. Nothing is behind us,” Pidge explained.

The lights then completely turned off, and a bloodcurdling shriek pierced the air. It came from the right side.

“We burrow everyday. Underground is where we stay. What do we say, Clear Day, Clear Day,” Hunk sang weakly. 

Footsteps not of their own tapped violently on the floor, speeding in their direction. “It's coming!”

The lights flickered back on, but there was no one in sight. “Let's keep walking,” Shiro coaxed.

They entered the infirmary where a person in a lab coast stood in front of a mannequin that was set on the bed.

“Oh no, this won't do at all. Your chart says we're going to need to operate,” the person tsked. “Not to worry, I have just the… THING!”

What followed was a manic bout of laughter and the sound of slashing and squelching. 

“AHHHHHH!” Hunk nearly body slammed Shiro into the wall behind them.

Shiro grunted, just as Pidge slid to the right. 

“Come on Hunk, we gotta keep moving,” Shiro said through gritted teeth.

Lance had jumped, but otherwise wasn't as startled, whereas Keith looked around stoically. 

“No sign of Allura yet, but I'm sure we'll run into her eventually,” he noted. 

“How are you not phased?” Pidge asked incredulously. 

They continued on, rounding a corner.

“I've seen worse.”

A man jumped in front of them wearing a patient's robe. “GAH!” Hunk, Lance, Shiro, and Pidge exclaimed in surprise.

The jumpscares continued on like that until they arrived at a hallway with several pictures hung along the walls. They were of people dressed in fancy Victorian gowns. 

“I don't like this. I don't like this one bit,” whimpered Hunk.

“Relax, we're almost at the end of the house,” Pidge said in a hushed voice.

“Wow, they really put in a lot of detail on these paintings. You think they borrowed them from somewhere?” Lance asked as he inspected them.

“I wouldn't...” began Keith.

Suddenly, one of the portraits of a woman in a white dress came to life, long red nails and high pitch shrieking as she extended a hand out of the frame.

“AHHHHHHHHH” That seemed to be the last straw for Hunk, as he took off in the opposite direction with Shiro in tow.

“Wait, Hunk! That's not the way to the exit!” Pidge called after them. “Great… I'd better go after them. You two will be fine on your own, right?”

“Yeah, we'll be fine. We can meet up at the exit,” Keith agreed easily.

Pidge nodded and took off after them. “See you in a bit!”

“You ok?” Keith asked as he looked to his side, where Lance was clinging to his arm.

“Yep, just peachy!” Lance said with a tremble in his voice. He loosened the grip on Keith's arm. “Let's continue.”

“If you say so.”

The two were left in a state of silence as they continued down the path. At least, until the lights went out again. 

Again, the sound of footsteps barreling their way. Keith tugged onto Lance's arm and moved a few feet to the left., the feeling of someone whizzing passed them still present.

The lights turned on, and standing to their left, was someone wearing a clown mask and a chainsaw in their hands. With a tug, the chainsaw came to life.

It was at that moment, that Keith truly felt panic coursing through his veins. Especially as the clown began to chase them. Keith's hand intertwined with Lance's as he made a mad dash for the staircase heading upstairs.

Lance stumbled as he was dragged along whatever direction Keith had chosen. The lights flickered again as they continued up the stairs and weaved through the various rooms and hallways the sanatorium held. 

Somehow, Lance's sweater had managed to snag on a nail hammered onto the wall. He was tugged back in place and wiggled to get free.

“I'm stuck!”

The two could hear the sound of footsteps coming their way. With adrenaline coursing through Keith's veins, he grabbed onto the hem and pulled. What followed, was the sound of fabric tearing as he pulled Lance free.

“Let's go!”

They ran some more until Keith found a half open door and pulled him inside, then slamming said door behind them.

It was only then, that Keith let go of Lance, as the two slid slowly against the frame of the door. The two struggled to catch their breath.

“What… *huff*… *cough*… the heck *wheeze* was that?!” exclaimed Lance between breaths.

“What… do you mean?” Keith asked.

“I've never seen you freak out so badly before.”

“I just don't like clowns.”

“Oh… That sounds to me like you were scared.”

“No it doesn't.”

“Does too.”

“Does not!”

Does too!”

“No it doesn't!”

Lance suddenly flinched as he felt the cool door upon his bare back. “Wha?” He twisted his body and felt around, until he felt the missing puzzle piece.

“My sweater! You tore the back of my sweater!”

He spun around to show Keith his handiwork. A long and large gash went from the back of the collar all the way to the back of the hem. The sweater was practically in two. 

“You're not wearing an undershirt?”

Keith could see the slight definition of a swimmer's built along Lance's back. He ran a finger down his spine.

Lance shivered as his back arched at the slight touch. “Don't do that!” he squawked. “I can't go around walking like this,” he wailed.

“Sorry… didn't mean to ruin your sweater. I guess… I sort of panicked,” Keith admitted shamefully.

“Yeah you did!”

Keith removed his flannel shirt. “Here, you can borrow this. I don't think that sweater is salvageable.” 

Lance took the shirt from Keith and stripped off his sweater woefully. “That was my favorite...”

He slipped on the flannel shirt and began to button up the buttons up until his collarbone. He also needed to adjust the sleeves to fit his arms a bit better.

Lance looked at his surroundings and then back to Keith. “So… where are we?”

Keith blinked, as he took the time to look around as well. “I don't know,” he answered truthfully. They had bobbed and weaved for a good amount of time that he had lost track of the right direction.

“You're telling me we're lost now?! Inside here?! With you?”

“What about me?” Keith asked with a frown.

“N-nothing!”

Keith stood up and dusted his pants, then extending a hand for Lance. “Come on Lover Boy, no use sitting around here.”

Lance took his hand hesitantly but stood up nonetheless. He looked around the room, and saw an aged photo of a group of sickly people in between a few nurses and doctors. “They weren't kidding about a bunch of people dying here,” he murmured.

“Yeah, they were sent here to get better, but it was more like they were sent here to their death. At first the doctors actually put an effort, but there was evidence that a few people weren't even given human rights and were treated like animals,” Keith said with a shake of his head.

“That's awful!”

“Some even say that they were being force fed these experimental treatments...”

“How are you so knowledgeable about this stuff?” 

“I watch a lot of documentaries.”

Keith opened the door and took a quick peek to make sure no clowns were lying in wait. Deeming it safe, he led Lance out of the room. “Come on. I think we came from this direction.”

Lance looked at him with doubt. “Are you sure?”

“No, but we just have to stick to one direction and we're bound to find something, right?”

Lance crossed his arms. “Right...” he said sarcastically.

They had only taken a few steps when a posh male voice rang out. “I wouldn't go in that direction if I were you.”

They turned around to see a man dressed in a purple silk robe and matching pajamas. His platinum white hair was tied in a loose braid. Despite the color of his hair, he looked quite young, perhaps in his early twenties. Clear skin and sharp blue eyes. Despite his straight posture, there was something almost fragile about him.

“They haven't finished remodeling that side of the sanatorium yet. Lots of rubble and rotten flooring.”

“Oh, we had no idea.”

“If you're trying to head back to the main part of the building, you need to take a left, take a right, find the staircase leading down and do another right.”

“Thanks dude, we appreciate it, right Keith?”

Lance nudged Keith's side with his elbow. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

The man blinked a few times and tilted his head as he gave them a slight smile. “Not a problem. Glad to be of help. Try not to get lost again, you never know what you'll find in these sorts of places.”

“Let's get out of here. We're supposed to meet up with the others soon,” Lance said, as he was the one tugging at Keith's arm.

“Sure. I almost forgot about that.”

“Well, we'll be seeing ya! And thanks again!” Lance said with a wave and the two made their way towards the exit.

By the time they found the exit, it had been well over an hour and Hunk was nearly in tears. 

“I'm so sorry you guys! I didn't mean to separate the group. We were almost going to send out a search party when you two didn't show up. I'm so glad you're ok!” He engulfed Keith and Lance in a bear hug.

“Where did you guys run off to anyway?” asked Pidge.

“It's kind of a long story...” mumbled Keith.

“Wait a minute… what happened to your sweater Lance? Is that… Keith's shirt you're wearing?” a woman in a white dress asked.

“Allura?! You're the portrait lady?” the group exclaimed.

“Surprised?” she asked cheekily.

“We didn't exactly get a good look at you before. You know, running for our lives?” Hunk explained.

“Then I'm doing my job right! Now, back to the question at hand. What happened?”

And so, the two were forced to explain the situation. “It was kind of touch and go for a while, you know? We ended up getting lost, and if it wasn't for one of the actors we might have ended up in a different situation,” explained Lance.

“Oh my, that does sound rather dire. Did you end up getting their name? I'm sure the director would appreciate knowing who to reward for their efforts of keeping the customers safe,” asked Allura.

The two shook their head. “Didn't get a name. But we can describe him to you.”

As they did, the smile across Allura's face fell. “Are positively sure that is who helped you?”

“Yeah, I mean his hair color was pretty unique, unless it was dyed or something, why?”

“We… don't have anyone working here with that description.”

“Huh?” the group chorused.


	3. Day 3: Carving Pumpkins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carving pumpkins has been an age old tradition passed down from generations to generations. At least, that is what Pidge always thought. Turns out, there are actually people that haven't even participated in such a feat. That is about to change today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 and 4 are going to be a lot shorter than the last two chapters, if only so I can get them in on time. Gonna be a bit busy this weekend, but I refuse to give up. No real warnings for this chapter. Just some fluff.

Lance woke up to the sound of the group chat chiming off. He blearily looked at the time, with the bright light notifying him that it was eight am. He groaned loudly. “This is supposed to be my lazy Saturday.”

He scrolled through the messages.

**Pidgey: Heading to the pumpkin patch, anyone wanna join?**

**Hunky-Poo: Oh, fun~! Unfortunately I've got to bow out. Shay invited me over for some apple picking.**

**SpaceDad: I have to decline as well. I have a meeting with Iverson today.**

**Pidgey: It was Matt and dad's idea to go. We're trying to see who can make the better designed carved pumpkin.**

That had piqued Lance's interest.

**Lancey-Lance: Sweet! I remember you all went out last year, can't wait to see what you come up with this time. Been a while since I've got into pumpkin carving. The last time I just got a stencil and colored it with markers since I was watching my bro's kids.**

**Mullet: Pumpkin carving? Why waste a perfectly good food like that?**

**Lancey-Lance: What?! I thought for sure you'd be for it. I mean, you got your knife obsession I just assumed you'd like make those little wooden carvings. Not much different from carving a pumpkin.**

**Mullet: *is typing***

This went on for a moment, before he erased the message and started over again.

**Mullet: I've never got a chance to carve pumpkins.**

**Pidgey: What?! Never? Well, come with us and we'll show you how it is done.**

0.0.0

Lance found himself tagging along with Keith and Pidge. There was no way he was passing up in watching Keith struggle to do something for once.

What he didn't expect, was the Holt family taking a large pick up truck to look for their spoils. After carefully inspecting dozens of pumpkins, the Holts had come to a decision of about ten pumpkins.

“We need a couple practices before we do the real deal,” Pidge explained once she looked to the shocked expressions.

So Lance and Keith chose two sizable pumpkins of their own. A quick stop to the store to pick us some extra garbage bags and carving tools later, they arrived to the Holt residence.

They were quickly ushered into the backyard, where Mrs. Holt had already set up a picnic table for them to use as a hard surface.

“First things first, we're gonna need to gut the inside of the pumpkin. We usually use the ice cream scooper to get out all the seeds and stuff,” Pidge prompted after taking one of the smaller pumpkins. 

She used the pairing knife to cut a zig-zag line around the top part of the pumpkin and popping it off with ease.

“I know that much,” Keith said, but followed her instructions nonetheless.

Cutting the top part and gutting a pumpkin was easy. It was the carving the design part that would prove to be the most difficult. But… they would get there when they get there.

When Keith stuck his hand in the slimy innards, he couldn't help but shudder at the texture.

“And you do this why? Is this supposed to be relaxing or something?” he asked with a grimace.

“It's a holiday tradition! And if you're that grossed out by it, just wear some gloves,” Pidge explained.

Lance began scooping his own pumpkin. “Hey, no judgment! I hate the texture too, but the fun part hasn't even started yet.”

“Hey, Pidge? Can you come over here?” Sam Holt called after his daughter from within the garage.

“Coming dad!” She jogged over to the garage, leaving the two on their own.

Lance grabbed a handful with the tools that came with the pack and discarded the guts into one of the trash bags. Keith started at the pumpkins seeds being pulled out. “If you save the seeds, you can stick them in the oven. They're pretty good after,” Lance explained sagely.

“But I've been wondering… what sort of traditions do you do for the spooky season?”

Keith shrugged as he pulled out more pumpkin guts. “Don't really have many traditions. I was busy trying to survive in the world.”

“Oh… Not even watch a bunch of Halloween movies on the family channel?”

Keith shook his head. “Not really. I mean, I recently watched Hocus Pocus. I kind of liked it, though Danny is a real moron.”

Lance looked at him incredulously. “You just recently watched Hocus Pocus? That movie is almost thirty years old! I mean it is a classic and all. Do you just stay home and pass out candies on Halloween? Cuz if so, that is kind of sad. I know! We should have a Halloween movie marathon! You've got to go through the DCOMS, as cheesy as they are. You won't get the full experience otherwise.”

“What's… a DCOM?”

Lance looked at him pitifully. “Oh… now that's just heartbreaking. What kind of sad childhood did you have?”

Keith's face darkened. “I don't want to talk about it.”

They were left in an awkward silence, as Lance cleared his throat. “Right. Oh! Do you have a costume in mind at least? For this year, I mean? I think Allura was supposed to throw this huge party in a few weeks. I was thinking about going as Spiderman. Go all out, you know? With those silly string canisters as the webs. You know?” he motioned animatedly, removing the little shovel from inside the pumpkin, and sending a glob right at Keith's face.

Keith flinched slightly, as the goopy mess ran down his face. 

Lance froze for a moment and was quickly overtaken by a burst of laughter. “O-oh man! I'm sorry dude.”

Keith slowly wiped the mess from his face, hands feeling sticky. “You don't sound very sorry.”

“I-I am, really,” Lance said trying to look serious. “Oh! Are you going to use a stencil or free hand it? Personally I'm ok with the stencil. You use these tacks to make tiny little holes in the paper to transfer it onto the pumpkin.”

It seemed at that point that Keith wasn't listening, as he took a large chunk of pumpkin insides and threw it at Lance's face.

It just barely missed his face, instead getting him on his chin. Lance's eyes widened, but then narrowed.

“Oh, its on!”

The two began to chase each other around, flinging pumpkin all over the yard in an attempt to get one another.

“Get back here! I have to defend my honor! And my jacket!” hollered Lance.

“Well, I've got to defend my shirt!” exclaimed Keith.

They weaved around the large tree in the Holt's yard, the last of their pumpkin guts in hand.

Keith's foot caught onto the tree trunk and he lurched forward, just as he had grabbed onto the back of Lance's jacket.

The two ended up tumbling to the ground and into the pile of fallen leaves just under the tree. Their faces smooshed onto the ground opposite of one another. A bit of dirt was smeared onto Keith's cheek. The two stared at each other for a few moments, before laughing slightly.

They slowly sat up from the ground, their bits of discarded pumpkin not far from their reach. “Look at us, we look like a fine work of abstract art,” Lance chuckled.

“Wait, hold on, you have a couple of twigs in your hair,” Keith noted as he brought a hand to ruffle Lance's hair.

Lance closed his eyes to not get debris in them as he felt Keith card his fingers through his hair, he could practically feel Keith's breath on his forehead. “Did you get it?”

“Almost...”

Lance took a quick peek by opening one eye, but gasped at the closeness of Keith. He could see the small droplets of sweat forming around his neck. 

Keith pulled away slightly, and presented Lance with one of the twigs. 

“Th-thanks…”

Keith shook his head. “Not a problem.” He then leaned close again, cupping Lance's cheek within his hands. As he leaned closer, Lance could feel his heart beating a mile a minute. He fluttered his eyelashes before closing his eyes completely again.

He licked his lips, thinking to himself, “Oh no, I don't have any breath mints on me!”

Splat! As Keith used his right hand to grab the discarded piece of pumpkin and smack it onto Lance's cheek.

“Got you.”

Lance eyes opened and he blushed profusely.

“That's cheating!”

“All is fair in love and war,” Keith quipped with a chuckle of his own.

It was at that time, that Pidge showed back up to survey the destruction before her. “What the heck is going on here?!”

“Nothing!” the two said in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you believe I carved pumpkins for the first time a couple of years ago? And it wasn't even any good. And we bought stencils! I've had little pumpkins before as a kid, but we only used those special markers on them.


	4. Day 4: Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kosmo goes missing, and Keith if frantic. Where had he run off to? A mystery is afoot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm going on a speed run. Let's see how many chapters I can post in order to catch up.

Keith had been busy the past few weeks working over time. He just about had enough money to fix up his dad's old motorcycle. It pained him to do so, as that meant less time giving Kosmo the attention he needed. He had asked Shiro to look after him for a bit, but there was only so much he could do before he had to go off on his own to do his own thing.

That afternoon, as he was heading off to work, Kosmo had pattered over to him with his leash secured between his lips.

“Not today Kosmo. Later. Shiro is suppose to come over in an hour.”

Kosmo whined and scratched at Keith's pant leg. “I promise this will be the last day. Tomorrow we can go on a long walk and I'll even take you to the dog park, ok?”

Kosmo's tail drooped as he forlornly dropped the leash and walked over to his bed and sat there with a huff.

“I'll see you later tonight. Be good!”

Two hours into his shift, he had gotten a call. He looked around, making sure that Kolivan was out of sight. The name 'Shiro' flashed across the screen. Keith nestled himself between one of the nooks and answered. "Shiro? Is everything ok?" he whispered, continuously looking over his shoulder.

"Keith, I need you to do something for me. I need you not to freak out, ok?"

"What are you talking about? What's going on?"

Shiro sighed deeply. "Kosmo is missing."

Keith felt himself seize. "What?!" he hissed.

"I don't know what happened. One minute he's in the backyard dragging around his tug toy, the next he's gone. I only turned around for a moment to get him a treat."

Keith could feel himself thinking a mile a minute. "Well, have you checked around the neighborhood? Maybe someone saw him get out?"

"I asked a few of the neighbors, but haven't had much luck. I'm going to do a loop around the block, but I'll call you if anything changes," Shiro said.

"Sure, sure. I've got to go, bye." And with that, Keith hung up. He leaned against the wall, groaning slightly.

"Kosmo, where are you?"

0.0.0

Lance had been outside his house watering his mother's garden or at least, what was left of it. Missing carrots, and dirt tracks leading to the side of the house. "What the? Since when did we have a rabbit problem?" he wondered aloud.

He did his best to salvage what he could before following the trail. "Oh man, mama is not gonna be happy..."

He approached the side, as the trail stopped near some bushes. He kneeled down, cautiously moving some of the brush out of the way. A few half eaten carrots were strewn along the area, but no signs of rabbits or any rodents. Which he was grateful for. No way he was contracting rabies.

Some rustling came from one of the other bushes, making Lance slowly creep in the direction. 

"Hello? Anyone here?" a voice called out.

Lance jumped up in alarm, whipping his head in the direction.

He could see the top of white floof and a gradient of black. "Coming!" he called out and trudged over the the front of the house. There, he saw a tall, broad shouldered man with a scar running across his nose. 

"Hey, can I help you with something?"

The man gave him a strained smile. "Yes, actually. I'm looking around for a dog, about this high, looks kind of wolfish? I was watching him for my younger brother and he seemed to have gotten out. He goes by Kosmo."

"A dog named Kosmo, huh?? No I haven't seen any dog with that description. Have you seen any rabbits or of the like running off with some carrots? It seems some animal got into my garden."

Shiro quirked a brow. "Rabbits?" He looked around the grassy ground. "No?"

"Ah, looks like the both of us have a mystery at hand!"

Shiro scratched his cheek. "Right... Well if you see Kosmo, please don't hesitate to call," he said, handing Lance his number on a grocery receipt he found in his pocket. "I'm Shiro, by the way."

"Will do! The name is Lance. Good luck though!"

"Thanks..."

Shiro turned back to the neighborhood, calling after Kosmo.

Lance returned to the side of the house. "Come on out, ya thief!" He had the garden hose in hand, patrolling the area. "You're around here somewhere, I know it!"

0.0.0

Keith paced around, constantly glancing at the clock. Still no call back from Shiro and the sun was beginning to set. "Keith," Kolivan said forcefully.

He looked back at Kolivan. "Just go. We can take it from here. You're too distracted to be of any help around here."

"Yes sir!" Keith practically ran to the back to grab his stuff from his lockbox. "Thanks again!" he called back.

He didn't live far from home, but headed for the dog park. Maybe he'd find him there?

"Kosmo? Where are you boy?" he called out.

He dialed Shiro to let him know he had gotten off work early to search for Kosmo. Easier to cover more ground. "If you're still upset about today, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to neglect you!"

No response, not even a bark. What if he never came back? What if he was left all alone again?

0.0.0

Lance entered the house, no sign of the thief. "Well, can't say I didn't try." He passed the kitchen, noting that someone had left out the milk and the cookie jar ajar.

He headed to the living room, where he heard his niece talking to her stuffed toys. "More tea Mr. Snuggles? Oh, but of course Mrs. Alligator! Have another cookie."

Lance laughed. "Looks like someone is having a tea party."

"Wait Charlie! You haven't finished your carrots, so you can't have dessert until then!" 

"Carrots? We don't-," began Lance. "Aha!"

He stormed into the living room. "Caught red handed! You've got a lot of ex-" Before he knew what hit him, he hit the ground with a thud, a large figure looming over him.

"Charlie no! Bad doggie! Get off Uncle Lance!"

At the time, all Lance could see was stars, and the sound of barking from above. "Off! Off!"

Panting, followed by a wet tongue lapping at his cheeks. "Woof! Woof!"

Lance's eyes began to open, coming face to face with a large fluffy dog. Or at least, he thought it was a dog, a huge one at that. He slowly sat up, the dog still in his lap. 

"Nadia... whose dog is this? And why is he in the house?!"

"I couldn't just leave him outside! He looked so sad and lonely. So I decided to keep him, right Charlie?"

The dog tilted his head in confusion. "You can't just claim a dog as your own. What if he has a family? And look at this mess!"

Dirt tracked inside and carrots all around the floor. "I'll clean it up, promise!"

"That doesn't matter Nadia. How did you even let him inside the house without anyone noticing?"

Nadia smiled, putting a hand out to the dog. "Magic."

Lance shook his head. "Right... magic. And I suppose he just teleported inside like some magician."

He looked to the dog, the dog staring back expectantly. Slowly, he rose a hand and patted his head. "Soft..." He stopped. "What am I doing? This dog clearly belongs to someone. You get the this place cleaned up, I'm going to find this guy's owner."

"Aw... but Uncle Lance..."

"No buts! I'll be back. And no more troublemaking."

He led the dog outside the house, and looked for any signs of a collar or tag. 

0.0.0

Just when Keith was about to give up hope, he saw a guy walking out of the house with a dog trailing behind him. "Kosmo?"

The dog looked over to Keith, barking before running over to him excitedly. 

"Kosmo!" arms outstretched, he jumped into his arms, licking his face. "I thought I'd lost you..." he murmured.

"He your dog?" asked the guy, as he got closer to the two. He was kind of gangly looking, but he had a nice face.

Keith nodded. "Yeah."

"Well then, I know who to give the bill for expenses then. Your dog is a carrot thief, you know that? He tore up my mom's garden."

Keith looked incredulously at Kosmo. "He's never done that before. What's gotten into you?"

Kosmo whined, nuzzling closer to Keith.

"Looks like he really missed you. On vacation?"

"Hardly. Been working extra hours to pay the bills."

"You better take better care of him. My niece said he looked real sad and lonely. She almost kept him for herself!"

"Yeah... I know. Thanks for getting him back to me..."

"Lance. Lance McClain."

"Keith Kogane."

"No problem."

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on," Lance said, as Nadia ran outside, calling after Kosmo. "And thus, the mystery of the missing dog and carrot thief has come to a close. Who'd of thought the two would end up intertwined. Tune in next week for the mystery of the missing left socks. Was is the washing machine? Or something far more sinister?" 

"Want to come in for a cup of coffee or something?"

Nadia wrapped her arms around Kosmo's leg. "I'd like that." As he walked in, he couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something.

Meanwhile...

"Kosmo? Kosmo, where are you?" called out Shiro, shivering in the cold air. He sneezed. 

"I should have brought a jacket..."


	5. Day 5: Autumn Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Living in an apartment complex next door to your crush is hard. Especially when your cat decides to be a little shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The struggle is real. I'm not about to stop though. It just might be a little delayed.

Lance hated to admit it, but he was glad his neighbors next door had decided to break up. The ongoing arguments that went well into the early hours and not to mention the weird sporadic visits in the middle of the night were becoming too much to handle. And with their relationship, so did their lease on the apartment. 

The night they finally moved out, Lance had turned on his music at full blast and danced all around. “I can finally get my beauty rest! No more banging on doors at all hours of the day. No more filing complaints! Freedom at last!”

“Mrowr?” his cat, who he affectionately named Bloo trilled. 

Lance had originally been a foster, but after picking her up from the shelter and having her at home for a month, there was no way he could let her go back. She was a two year old Russian Blue that had been given up by the family of her elderly owner. Apparently the owner had passed on and the family had a severe cat allergy and were unable to keep her. The people at the shelter had a hard time getting her to warm up to her, and nearly deemed her unadoptable. However, it was at the time that Lance had swooped in to save the day. It seemed that she had grown attached to him, even allowing her to pick her up. And the rest? Well it was history. However sweet, she had a slight mischievous side to her, that seemed to pop up at the most inopportune times.

After a little dance party, Lance picked her up and headed for the bedroom. “Come on girl, time for a nap.”

0.0.0

It only took about two weeks before the apartment next door was replaced with a new tenant. Lance had just gotten back from his yoga class, and walked towards the elevator with his mat in tow. He stepped inside, and pressed the button going up. 

“Hold the door!” he heard a voice call out. 

Lance leaned to the side to get a good look at where it was coming from, and saw dark hair peeking from behind a couple moving boxes. 

He pressed the button to keep the doors from closing and the figure quickly made its way inside.

“Appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

“What floor, my dude?”

“Fifth,” he answered.

“Huh, mine too. Apartment 534?”

“Yeah, actually.”

“That's right next to mine! Hey, we're going to be neighbors.”

“Uh, nice?”

“Hold on! I just have a couple of questions. One, do you have any pets? Two! Just you, or do you have like a significant other moving in with you as well? Three! Do you have crazy work hours or friends showing up at random intervals of the night?”

“Yes, no, no, no,” the man answered.

“Oh, what kind of pet?” Lance asked curiously.

“Cat, named him Red.”

The elevator opened to the fifth floor, the both of them stepping out.

“I've got a cat too. Her name is Bloo.”

The two stopped in front of their respective houses. It was then, that the mystery man put down his boxes in front of him and turned to Lance.

“Blue? Huh, what a coincidence.”

Lance looked over, and practically choked on his spit. “Keith?!”

“Oh, hi Lance. Had no idea I was talking to you.”

“Uh… I gotta go. Nice chatting with you!” Lance practically threw the door open and quickly shut it behind him, basically slamming the door in Keith's face.

“Guess he needed to use the bathroom or something,” Keith said with a shrug and unlocked the door to his apartment.

0.0.0

Lance scraped his spoon along the edges of his yogurt, dressed in his blue bathrobe and had a green cleansing mask applied to his face. “Bloo, do you believe in fate?”

Bloo hopped onto the couch beside lance, settling in his lap. “I mean what kind of explanation is there that he ends up moving here of all places? Next door? That has to mean something, right?”

Her tail swished slightly, as she eyed the yogurt container. Her right paw reached over ever so slightly. “I felt like such an idiot. Like, how could I not recognize his voice? And I acted like such an ass. But I mean, with last tenant's record? How could I not?” he huffed.

He licked the yogurt from the spoon, trying not to get any on his upper lip, as he was still waiting for the mask to dry. One hand no longer on the container was all it took for Bloo to make her move. She slapped the container out of Lance's hand, bits of yogurt spilling on the floor.

“Bloo, no!!”

She hopped down and began to lap up the yogurt contently. Lance groaned, and scrambled to find some paper towels to clean up the mess. “Really? You couldn't have waited until after I finished venting?”

She meowed at Lance. “And I am not a drama queen!”

There was a knock at his door, to which Lance groaned in exasperation. “What now?” A handful of paper towels in hand, he trudged over to the door and swung it open.

“Hey Lance.”

Lance felt himself internally scream, as he blinked owlishly back at Keith.

“Is this a bad time?” Keith asked after Lance stood blankly in place. “I wanted to see if I could borrow your coffee machine… I can come back later? You got… green stuff all over your face. Working on some costume for Halloween or something?”

That seemed to bring Lance's consciousness back to his body. “It's a face mask,” he said quickly. “You caught me during my nightly routine!” He adjusted his bathrobe, closing the front a little more securely. “Why do you need to use the coffee machine in the middle of the night for?” he asked suspiciously.

“It's eight pm.”

“I stand by my question.”

“I still need to finish unpacking, but I've been awake since five am this morning. I don't want to fall asleep until I've fixed up the living room.”

“Come on in,” Lance said, ushering Keith inside. “Coffee machine is on the counter, should be pretty self explanatory. Now if you'll excuse me...” He darted back to dabbing at the mess Bloo had left.

“My life… is over,” he bemoaned quietly from the floor.

0.0.0

Weeks passed, as Keith became adjusted to the new apartment. The leaves outside were beginning to change colors, falling gracefully to the ground below. He appreciated the scenery from his balcony, overlooking a nearby forest, the trees parting enough for the sun to paint the skies in its array of colors. He breathed in the fresh, but cool air outside, hair swishing with the wind. He leaned against the railing, elbow propped slightly as he cupped his chin. Safe to say that autumn weather was in full swing.

Some of the doors in the building were beginning to be adorned with the occasional fake spider and spiderweb, while others decorated the door with paper skeletons. Keith, on the other hand was not of the celebratory kind. He peered over at Lance's balcony, where he could make out a few bat decals along the sliding glass door. He also saw Bloo pawing at them from inside.

Keith chuckled, looking back to where Red was chasing his battery powered mouse toy in his own apartment. 

Lance peered from the corner of the door when Keith turned to face his own sliding door. Actually, he'd been watching the pensive expression and the way the wind seemed to caress Keith's face. It was actually a real dreamy sight. Dammit, why did Keith have to look so flawlessly hot?! It was turning Lance into a disaster.

He opened his sliding door and stepped out. “Come on Lance. Cool off,” he chastised himself. He took a deep breath, then let it escape slowly. He felt the pressure ease up a bit.

“Mrowr?” Lance down at his feet. “Bloo? Where'd you go?” He turned to Keith's balcony and screamed. “Bloo!!!!”

Bloo had jumped over into Keith's balcony, sniffing around curiously. Luckily, she had jumped over without any hiccups, but that did little to quell Lance's fear.

He ran back inside the house and grabbed his broom, leaning on the railing to bridge a passage for Bloo to return to his side. “Bloo, come here, come on,” he called out.

Bloo took one look at Lance, and then turned her fluffy back to him. “You brat!” he hissed. His grip on the broom slipped, it tumbling down to the ground and snapping in half on impact, but landing in a pile of leaves accumulated near the bottom of the building. Bloo sauntered to the open sliding door and entered Keith's apartment unashamedly. 

Lance pulled himself from the railing with wide eyes, staring at the pieces of wood littering the ground where once stood the broom. “That could have been bad.”

Keith returned to his balcony at the sound, finding Lance half bent over the railing. 

“What's going on?”

“Hey Keith. Sorry about the noise. Thought I could fly away on my broom, but turns out, it was a faulty model. Shouldn't have skimped out on the warranty,” Lance joked humorlessly.

“Lance? Do you need me to call someone?” Keith asked.

“Actually, Bloo… might be somewhere in your apartment. She jumped over.”

“Oh. Why didn't you just say so? Come around and I'll let you in to get her.”

“Right, thanks Keith,” Lance said, face burning in embarrassment.

Not even five minutes later, Lance was inside Keith's apartment in search of Bloo. What they found, was Bloo and Red cuddling on a small comforter decorated with autumn leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of lame, and a little off prompt, but oh well. I love cats, but they can be such jerks sometimes. lol.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my goodness, I did it! I finished a prompt. And I didn't even go over my allotted word count. I'm notorious for not knowing when to stop writing. Well, here it is, out in the world. And now I'm off to play some Planet Zoo as a treat.


End file.
